Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Idol Top 4 Performances

This week's theme on American Idol was songs from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Despite the rock theme, tonight's contestants--aside from resident rocker David Cook--opted for more mellodic choices that, interestingly enough, didn't sound anything like rock music. With over 500 songs to choose from, quite a few of the song selections seemed rather odd. However, the contestants still managed to turn in a some memorable moments--some that were lovely, and others that weren't quite so pleasing.

Recap:--> Starting off the show, David Cook performed a rather straightforward rendition of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf." The performance was fine, and his vocals were solid as always, but for a night that catered to Cook's personal genre, everyone seemed to be expecting more. I'd say poor song choice is what caused a slightly subpar first performance. Fortunately, his second song--The Who's "Baba O'Riley"--showed off his big voice and well-defined style. The unfortunate part of the evening is that he performed first, likely causing this great performance to go unremembered. Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be the case.

--> Next up, Syesha Mercado continued her improving streak by performing the unforgettable "Proud Mary" and Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." Syesha is definitely worthy competition as far as vocals go. The problem is she doesn't take the same risks as fellow contestants--in particular, the Davids. Instead, she covers songs rather well without truly making them her own. Tonight, she looked lovely, sounded strong and consistent, and offered audiences two different sides of her voice and perfomance style. If singing talent dictates voting like it should, then Syesha should be safe.

--> The third contestant to hit the stage was Jason Castro. As much as Brooke White deserved to go home last week, I'd rather have had her on the stage tonight. The difference between the two relatively weak contestants? Brooke at least seemed to try to improve and enjoy herself. Jason, on the other hand, seemed indifferent and even a bit lazy tonight with his lackluster performances of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." The latter wasn't too bad, but it definitely didn't make up for Jason's first song, which Simon called "atrocious."

--> Lastly, the Idol producers' cherished prodigy David Archuleta stepped up his game and returned to form, giving two truly great performances. He sang Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" and Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender." Both were great song choices that fit his style, range and target audience. Not only that, but the boy sang the heck out of each of them. Simon said David crushed the competition tonight. I don't necessarily agree with that, but he definitely solidified his spot in the finale.

Best case scenario: Syesha Mercado or Jason Castro (he should've gone weeks ago) goes home, leading up to what deservedly should be a David-vs.-David finale. No other contestants have served up as strong or innovative of performances as these two over the entire duration of the competition.

Worst case scenario: In the shocking tradition of eliminating strong favorites--i.e. this season's Michael Johns and Carly Smithson--one of the Davids could go home a la' Chris Daughtry of Season 5 or Tamyra Gray of Season 1. As Ryan said, if you want your favorite to stay, you need to vote.

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The views and opinions expressed in this blog do not reflect the views and opinions of The Collegiate, the student-run newspaper of Grand Rapids Community College. By extension, this blog does not reflect the views and opinions of GRCC. All viewpoints are reflective only of the author(s) who wrote them. This blog is not a classroom assignment. Rather, it is a labor of love (or spite, perhaps) for those who work on it.